US equities turned relatively lackluster during trading on Thursday, following the rally seen in the previous session. Despite the choppy trading, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again reached new record closing highs. The Nasdaq climbed 59.12 points or 0.3 percent to 17,667.56 and the S&P 500 rose 12.71 points or 0.2 percent to 5,433.74. The Dow once again bucked the uptrend, however, with the blue chip index slipping 65.11 points or 0.2 percent to 38,647.10.
The Labor Department released a report showing a modest decrease by producer prices in the month of May. The report said the producer price index for final demand dipped by 0.2 percent in May after climbing by 0.5 percent in April. The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 2.2 percent in May from an upwardly revised 2.3 percent in April. This came following yesterday's tamer-than-expected consumer price inflation data.
Meanwhile, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased in the week ended June 8th. The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 242,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. With the unexpected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 248,000 in the week ended August 12, 2023.
The US dollar index steadied around 105 mark on Friday and was set to advance for the second straight week, underpinned by fears that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates higher for longer. US benchmark treasuries extended the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 5.7 basis points to a two-month closing low of 4.238 percent.
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